Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 19, 2026
Dynamic Quantitative Sensory Testing to Characterize Central Pain Processing
Published on: February 16, 2017
Production of consistent pain by intermittent infusion of sterile 5% hypertonic saline, followed by decrease of pain
Blaine C Long1, Kenneth L Knight, Ty Hopkins
1Dept of Health and Human Performance, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA.
Context:
It is suggested that postinjury pain is difficult to examine; thus, investigators have developed experimental pain models. To minimize pain, cryotherapy (cryo) is applied, but reports on its effectiveness are limited.
Objective:
To investigate a pain model for the anterior knee and examine cryo in reducing the pain.
Design:
Controlled laboratory study.
Setting:
Therapeutic modality laboratory.
Participants:
30 physically active healthy male subjects who were free from any lower extremity orthopedic, neurological, cardiovascular, or endocrine pathologies.
Main Outcome Measures:
Perceived pain was measured every minute. Surface temperature was also assessed in the center of the patella and the popliteal fossa.
Results:
There was a significant interaction between group and time (F68,864 = 3.0, P = .0001). At the first minute, there was no difference in pain between the 3 groups (saline/cryo = 4.80 ± 4.87 mm, saline/sham = 2.80 ± 3.55 mm, no saline/cryo = 4.00 ± 3.33 mm). During the first 5 min, pain increased from 4.80 ± 4.87 to 45.90 ± 21.17 mm in the saline/cryo group and from 2.80 ± 3.55 to 31.10 ± 20.25 mm in the saline/sham group. Pain did not change within the no-saline/cryo group, 4.00 ± 3.33 to 1.70 ± 1.70 mm. Pain for the saline/sham group remained constant for 17 min. Cryo decreased pain for 16 min in the saline/cryo group. There was no difference in preapplication surface temperature between or within each group. No change in temperature occurred within the saline/sham. Cooling and rewarming were similar in both cryo groups. Ambient temperature fluctuated less than 1°C during data collection.
Conclusion:
Intermittent infusion of sterile 5% hypertonic saline may be a useful experimental pain model in establishing a constant level of pain in a controlled laboratory setting. Cryotherapy decreased the induced anterior knee pain for 16 min.
